


and our guards will give way

by flippantninny



Category: The Walking Dead (TV), Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-27
Updated: 2014-08-27
Packaged: 2018-02-15 01:02:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2209728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flippantninny/pseuds/flippantninny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just another night of guard duty for Daryl at the prison.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and our guards will give way

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "Be Good".
> 
> A night at the prison. Between s3 and s4.

People were starting to relax.

 

That was probably a good thing, really. Each new arrival settled in quicker than the last and Daryl could feel a sense of calm settling over the prison. People were beginning to live, form friendships and relationships. It wasn’t life as it was before, but it was getting there. But each morning people woke up a little later, they farmed a little less and stopped checking the fences quite so meticulously, and as winter drew in and food should be rationed more, people seemed to have decided they could eat as much as they liked. And that was how it _should_ be, he supposed. How could he complain about people trying to live their lives like they had before?

 

It was okay, though. He had to pick up the slack while Rick played farmer, and everyone else’s relaxation meant he was planning more runs, hunting in every spare moment, checking the fences at least twice a day, and picking up more guard duty shifts, but it _was_ okay. It was worth it. People needed to start living again, and if he had to work twice as hard so they could have lives, it was worth it.

 

And guard duty wasn’t so bad anyway. He was growing to appreciate the alone time, hidden away at the top of the guard tower where people weren’t asking him questions or offering to go on the next run or thanking him for a catching a deer. They meant well, but he missed the days when he could hide at the back of the group, doing his bit to help under Rick’s leadership. Now they had a council, and he wasn’t the sole leader, but he still found in meetings he was the one everyone looked to, the one who had the final say. And he hated it. But they all had jobs to do, that’s what Beth always said, they all had jobs to do and if he had to be a leader while Rick took a well earned break, then so be it. It wasn’t a job he liked, but it was one he was willing to accept.

 

The sun was starting to set and the prison courtyard was starting to empty. Daryl watched as the last few people disappeared from the courtyard into their cell blocks and prepared himself for a long few hours of peace. Maggie would relieve him at some point around midnight, but for the time being all her had to concentrate on was staying awake and staying alert.

 

It was about half an hour later when he heard footsteps behind the door and a light knocking.

 

“’s not time for you to take over yet, Maggie, go t’ sleep,” he yelled at the door. He was good for a few more hours and if Maggie started her shift early then Glenn would have to start his shift early and Zach would be starting his shift when it wasn’t even light out, and as much as he liked the kid he wasn’t sure he was ready to trust any newcomers with being alert that early in the morning.

 

“It’s just me,” another voice said, as the door opened and the youngest Greene walked through, carrying a plate of whatever it was Carol had cooked for them that day.

 

“What’re you doin’ here?” he asked, and more importantly, what was she doing walking across the courtyard at night? Sure, the prison was safer than out there, but there was a reason people were meant to stay in their cell blocks after the sun set.

 

“I saw you didn’t eat dinner,” she said, walking over to him, holding out the plate, “you went straight from the run to up here. You need food.”

 

He shrugged. Wasn’t the first time he’d missed a meal, wouldn’t be the last. He didn’t mind too much, an empty stomach helped him stay awake sometimes. But he accepted the plate, then watched as she took a step back, hesitating by the door. Her face was lit up by the moonlight and he could see the dark circles under her eyes. Beth was probably the only person who wasn’t relaxing. While Rick was spending his days farming, she was spending hers raising his baby. Except raising Judith wasn’t just a day job, it was a twenty-four hour ordeal, and he could see the sleepless nights wearing on Beth.

 

“It taste any good?” he asked, shifting the food around the plate with his fork. It was probably squirrel, he’d bought a few back yesterday, and there were some carrots in there two. A pretty standard meal these days. He had to bring in a deer soon, people would be getting tired of daily stews.

 

She shrugged.

 

“That bad, huh?” he asked. She smiled at the joke, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. He was going to have to talk to Rick about Lil Asskicker. Or maybe Carol. Someone needed to let the girl have some rest, he’d heard her singing to Judith last night, walking around the prison trying to get her to sleep as soon as the sun set until it began to rise that morning. And he knew it wasn’t the first night like that, he’d heard her rushing off to the showers or the library or whatever other secluded corner she could find, where the baby’s crying wouldn’t wake up the rest of the residents. Maybe he could talk to the council, mention adding baby sitting to the jobs on rotation, take some of the load off Beth, let her rest a few days then get her doing more of the other jobs, maybe train her up for a run. Yeah, he had a quick run planned for one of the next few days, he was planning on going solo, but it would be quick and safe, wouldn’t hurt to break Greene in with a run like that.

 

“I dunno,” she said, “didn’t try any, there wasn’t much left, so I just grabbed a plate for you, I can eat tomorrow.”

 

“You haven’t eaten?”

 

“It’s fine, I can survive without,” she said. Right, Beth Greene survives so everyone else can live.

 

He sighed, looking at the plate. He was hungry, but he was sure she was hungrier.

 

“Sit down, Greene,” he said, shifting over a little to make some room for her beside him.

 

“What?”

 

“Sit down and have the damn meal.”

 

“No, I should get back to C-Block, Rick’s probably waiting for me to take Judy and I said I’d help Carol with sortin’ out some laundry and Zach wanted to talk to me about somethin’, I said I’d meet him after dinner and he’s probably waitin’-“ and before Daryl knew what he was doing the plate of rabbit stew, or squirrel stew, or whatever it was, was on the ground beside him and he was between Beth and the door.

 

“Greene, I am tryin’ do guard duty here and I do not have time to be distracted by your damn stubbornness, so sit down, eat that food, and let me get back to keepin’ watch, okay?”

 

Truth was, her stubbornness was cute. He loved her stubbornness. He loved the way her eyes lit up and her cheeks turned red, her hands settled on her hips and her eyebrow cocked, and he just knew that was it, the battle was lost. Unless, like in that moment, his options were letting her go back to the prison, hungry and tired with another sleepless night waiting for her, or forcing himself to tell her ‘no’.

 

“I got that food for you,” she replied, still glaring up at him.

 

“You need it more ‘n I do, this ain’t a discussion, Greene, sit down.”

 

With one final, aggressive sigh and a look that almost made him flinch, she stepped past him, slumping to the ground and grabbing the plate and fork. Satisfied that she had conceded he sat down beside her, letting his shoulders relax.

 

“Why am I Greene?” she asked, after taking a few small bites, chewing each mouthful for far longer than he would have before quietly swallowing.

 

“What d’ya mean?” he replied.

 

“Well, Maggie is Maggie, and my dad is Hershel, everyone else calls me Beth, but you call me Greene. Why am I Greene?”

 

In truth, he had never really considered why he called her by her last name, it just felt natural, like a nickname she’d had since before he’d met her, except, as far as he was aware, it was a nickname she’d never had.

 

“I can call you Beth if ya want,” he said, staring out at the prison fence, watching as a walker caught sight of a squirrel, turning its focus shifting from the building to the animal as it darted off into the trees.

 

“No, it’s fine, I kinda like Greene, just wonderin’ why is all,” she said, and he looked away from the fence and down at the girl, who, even when sitting beside him, was still only as tall as his shoulder. He glanced at the plate, still relatively untouched, then back at her.

 

“I dunno,” he said, shrugging again, “ya jus’ differen’ I guess,” her face broke into a smile, one far brighter than the previous one. This one reached her eyes and hit him like a punch to the gut, “eat yer food.”

 

He stared at her for a few seconds longer, watching as she focused back on the plate, stabbing a larger piece of meat with the fork. He watched as she raised it to her lips, letting his gaze linger as she popped it into her mouth, pink lips closing around it. Then he looked back at the fence. They really needed to get more people on fence duty. With winter coming and runs less convenient they had to focus on making the fences as solid as possible, the weak areas were no longer just another problem for another day.

 

“You should have some,” she said, after swallowing the mouthful, “I’m already feelin’ full, and you ain’t eaten either.”

 

“You’ve barely had a few mouthfuls, Beth,” he said, glancing from the almost-full plate back to her.

 

She shrugged.

 

“I usually don’t eat much, don’t need as much food as you do.”

 

“Ya still gotta eat,” he replied.

 

“I know,” she said, her cheeks turning pink, “it ain’t like I’m skippin’ meals on purpose, Daryl, just get distracted with jobs and takin’ care of Judy.”

 

“That ain’t on you, you know?” she looked up at him, eyes wide and questioning, “Judy. I know ya love her, and ya love takin’ care of her, but she ain’t your kid, you deserve a break once in a while.”

 

“But Daryl,” she said, and he could see her eyes beginning to dampen, tears forming, threatening to spill onto her cheeks at any moment, “if I ain’t raisin’ Judy then what’m I good for?” she asked. And he could almost feel his heart shatter. He supposed it was only a matter of time before this happened, before Beth let herself cry. Barely sleeping in weeks and raising a baby had taken its toll.

 

“Hey, don’ say that shit, yer the most importan’ damn person in this prison,” she looked at him like he was saying the most unbelievable thing she’d ever heard, “hey, you are. Remember that first night, when we were all out in the yard, didn’t even have C-Block yet.”

 

She nodded, and he watched as a tear spilled down he cheek. He brushed it away with his thumb, lingering on her cheek for a second before pulling back.

 

“I didn’t really get it at the time, the singin’ and all, but we didn’t even have the cell block then and you still managed to make it a home, Beth, that’s the most impor’ant thing anyone could’a done for us.”

 

She shook her head, “you weren’t even listening.”

 

“I was talkin’ to Carol, don’t mean I couldn’t hear you singin’, don’t mean I couldn’t feel the change when I got back.”

 

She looked up at him, more tears spilling down her cheeks, “what change?”

 

“You gave everyone hope. Any old loser can stick a knife in a walker, only you could give us all hope with a damn song.”

 

“Singin’ doesn’t help kill walkers though.”

 

“Yeah, ‘bout that,” he said, wiping another tear away then lifting his arm from between them and wrapping it around her shoulder, pulling her in to lean against his chest, “I was thinkin’ maybe I could talk to the council, we have a meetin’ in two days time, I can talk to them and get a few more people to take care of Lil Asskicker, get you doin’ other jobs, fence duty ‘n runs, shit like that.”

 

“Daryl, no one’ll want to go on a run with me, I’m just the babysitter,” she replied, shifting a little against him, then settling in, fitting beside him like a puzzle piece.

 

“I’ll go on a run with ya.”

 

“Yeah, you say that now, but next time you’re plannin’ a run you’ll be askin’ Michonne and Sasha and Ty, people like that, and I’ll be watchin’ Judy, same as always.”

 

“No way, I’m plannin’ a run for some time in the next few days, you can come then, just you ‘n me.”

 

She looked up at him, eyes wide, pushing herself away from him a little, “you’re just sayin’ that ‘cause I’m cryin’ like an idiot,” she said, wiping her eye.

 

“Do I strike you as the sorta guy who says shit just t’ make people feel better?”

 

Then she smiled. A smile so bright he almost forgot it was nighttime. And she leaned up, planting a kiss on his cheek, before settling back down with his arm around her.

 

It wasn’t long before Beth Greene was sleeping against his chest.

 

Truth was he had been telling the truth about that run, and he wasn’t usually the sort of guy that said shit just to make people feel better, but when it came to Beth nothing really seemed usual. He would tell her the sky was yellow and grass was pink if he thought it might make her smile.

 

He looked down, unsure of what, exactly, he was doing, and leaned in toward her, brushing his lips against her head.

 

The plate of food, still mostly unfinished was still sitting beside her. He reached over with his free hand and grabbed it, setting it down on his lap and eating a mouthful. He would have preferred for Beth to have finished it, but small victories. At least she had some, and at least she was sleeping right now, rather than wandering around the prison with Judy crying in her arms. Maybe tomorrow he would fit in a hunt, hopefully he could track down a deer, but if not he’d settle for a few squirrels. Maybe he could set one aside just for Beth, she’d earned it, and he could cook it for her. He’d let her sleep as long as she needed, then bring it to her cell when she woke up. Or maybe he could cook it before his guard shift and convince her to join him at the top of the tower tomorrow night. He could grab a squirrel for himself and a squirrel for her (he’d have to catch quite a few to make up for it, to make sure the rest of the prison ate well, but he supposed there were perks to being the resident hunter, and being able to treat someone to their own squirrel was definitely one of those perks), and they could enjoy them together as the sun set and the prison quieted for another night. Maybe they could discuss that run he was planning on taking her on. The idea of roaring into an abandoned town, no one else around but Beth, holding on to him from the back of his bike, was growing more appealing with every second he thought about it.

 

And if she spent tomorrow night in C-Block, she’d end up taking Judy again. Maybe he could convince her to sleep up there while he took watch. Maybe he could get used to being Greene’s pillow.

 

It was a few hours later when he heard footsteps on the stairwell again, and Maggie walked through the door, mouth open, about to speak, until her eyes stopped on Beth. Instead she turned, closing the door as lightly as she could, and sat beside Daryl.

 

“How’d she end up up here?” she whispered.

 

“Brought me some dinner,” he said, nodding at the empty plate, “fell asleep, ain’t been sleepin’ much, think she’s exhausted,” he looked from the oldest Greene sister back to the youngest, who had shifted slightly, stirring when Maggie entered the room, her small hands grabbing at his shirt. He tightened his arm around her, pulling her a little closer, satisfied when her hand relaxed that she wasn’t going to wake up.

 

“Want me to wake her up?” Maggie asked, and he looked back up at the older sibling, shaking his head.

 

“Nah, girl needs her sleep.”

 

“But your shifts over, you want to get to your cell, right?”

 

“She needs to sleep,” he said again, “I can stay up here one night,” hell, he’d stay up there every night if it meant he knew she was getting a proper night’s sleep. He cared about everyone in the prison, would never forgive himself if anything happened to them, but there were a certain few who were a little more special. Those who came from the Atlanta camp, and those from the farm. And Michonne. And for some reason, out of all of those people, the littlest Greene had dug her way into him. And he had no idea what it meant or how it had happened, all he knew was right then, despite the weak points in the fences and the dwindling supplies, she was the priority.

 

“You sure?” Maggie asked, “I’m sure she’d fall asleep again if you walked her back to her cell.”

 

“Was Judy sleepin’ when ya left?” he asked.

 

“No, Rick was up in his cell tryin’ to get her to sleep when I walked by,” she replied.

 

“See, if Beth went back there now, she’d end up takin’ that baby all night. ‘Sides, ‘m comfy here anyway. Just wake me up by sunrise, alright?”

 

“You’re gonna sleep up here?”

 

He shrugged, “sure, ain’t like those cots ‘re comfier anyway.”

 

“Okay,” she said, glancing at her sister again, then settling down in a seat with a better view of the gates and fences, “hey, Daryl,” she added, as he was about to close his eyes.

                 

“Yeah?”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“What for?”

 

“Caring about my baby sister.”

 

He would have shrugged if it weren’t for the girl sleeping on him.

 

“’M goin’ t’ sleep now,” he said instead.

 

“You better not snore,” he thought he caught her say as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

“Daryl, hey Daryl.”

 

“Fuck off,” he said, blinking his eyes open. The sun was shining into the tower. He looked down, Beth was still asleep against him. “Thought I told Maggie t’ wake me up at sunrise,” he said, looking across the guard tower at Glenn.

 

“I tried, but the two of you just looked so damn cute,” he said, laughing when Daryl glared at him.

 

“Daryl?” he heard a sleepy voice say from beside him.

 

“Ya fuckin’ woke ‘er up, Glenn,” Daryl said, but his focus was on Beth, loosening his arm around her so she could sit up and look around. Stubborn Greene might have been cute, but as it turned out, she had nothing on just-woken-up, sleepy Greene.

 

“Glenn?” she said, looking over at him, “what’re you doin’ here?”

 

“Guard duty,” he replied, with a casual shrug, looking back over at the fences where a few people had already started dealing with the walkers.

 

“What’re we doin’ here?” she said, looking back at Daryl.

 

“Ya fell asleep,” he said, with a shrug.

 

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

 

“He fell asleep too,” Glenn said.

                 

“Shut it, Glenn,” he said, untangling his arm from around Beth so he could stand up.

 

He stared down at the fence for a minute, watching as a few more people joined in with taking out the walkers. He was considering who he’d ask to go round the other side of the fence with him later and start burning the geek bodies, when two arms wrapped around him from behind.

 

“Thank you,” Beth whispered into his back.

 

He tried to think of an appropriate response, staring at the pale hands rested on the front of his shirt. Instead what he said was “you should go get breakfast.”

 

“You too,” she replied, as her hands fell away and he turned a little to look at her.

 

“Nah, gotta talk to Glenn, I’ll get some a little later,” he replied.

 

She shrugged, “okay, I’ll save you a plate,” walking towards the door.

 

“Hey, Greene,” he said, as her hand touched the handle, “I’ll be up here again tonight, if ya wanna talk about that run.”  


He watched as her face broke into a smile, “ok,” she said, before disappearing down the stairwell.

 

“Run?” Glenn said, looking over at Daryl.

 

“Gotta get some rope, pick up some canned food, figured she could come along,” he said, going for a casual tone but sure he was failing.

 

“Oh man,” Glenn said, walking over to stand beside Daryl at the window, “you are so fucked,” he said, as he watched Daryl watch Beth walk back to the prison.

                                                

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, I think Beth was probably working very hard caring for a lot of people between s3 and s4, and I don't think a scene like this would have really happened, but I got the idea in my head and went with it.


End file.
